An Author's note: Hey, I've started a new story, mainly because I needed something to distract me from this one while I had mild writers block, and I didn't want the idea to float away from me while I write this one. It's called Reel Trouble (I know, goofy name, I never was good at naming stories). Ah, well they say it's the content that counts. Go to my nonexistent profile and check it out. See what you think. Like this one it is Raven centered (duh), but it's going to be a little bloodier than this one in later chapters. The first chapter is kind of funny (I hope), but trust me, it will not be funny for long, despite the name.

Seems to me that most of my reviewers have slowed down, must be school. Gag! School! I pity the poor fool in high school (at least in collage I can set my own hours). Although high school is necessary, it can still be a pain, and I'm not talking about the classes. I handle classes pretty well; it was the moronic students in the schools that annoyed me. Why, in Gods name, would you want to make out in a hall barely big enough to contain all the students in school between classes? You just end up cluttering the halls so no one can get anywhere (this is one of my many high school complaints. I have a list!) Trust me, collage is much better.

It is official, at twenty chapters (twenty one if you count the prologue) and counting this is the longest story I have ever written. And there is so much more left to write! Hope you are still enjoying yourself!

On with the show.

Chapter Twenty

Escape Plans

Beast Boy and Jinx sneaked through the city, keeping to the shadows as much as they could. Beast Boy had shifted to a small green cat, and Jinx seemed to have no trouble blending into the shadows. Zip was not with them, the bird had vanished once again.

At first they had not been inclined to be secretive when the crow gave them last minute directions, but they had changed their minds when Beast Boy, determined to scout the town out, spied the hanged Caninoid bodies swinging in the trees that flanked the gates of a castle like area. They were in various stages of decay, some looked pretty fresh, while others where nothing but bleached white bones. He had been flying over as a bird at the time, and it was a good thing he had. He had nearly thrown up at the sight, but birds cannot throw up (except vultures, but he was a sparrow). Who could have done this terrible thing? He did not want to find out, so he had convinced Jinx that they should sneak around, instead of walking boldly in. They headed to the place where Beast Boy had seen the bodies. Beast Boy wanted to know what was up with that. He could not shake the feeling that it might have something to do with Raven.

Beast Boy slunk along like a little furry green ghost. He wanted desperately to find Raven. He had the terrible feeling that she might be here, and he did not like that thought at all.

He and Jinx were close to the castle where the bodies were. The smell of death assaulted poor Beast Boy's nose. He hissed a bit and continued on. Quietly he and Jinx slipped through the bars of the castle. Beast Boy had to admit that, when breaking and entering, Jinx was the best companion you could ask for.

Amidst the smell of rotting corpses, Beast Boy caught a familiar odor. A very familiar odor. It smelled like…Robin. Eager to find his leader, Beast Boy mewed and started following the trail. It was kind of amusing seeing a green kitty following a trail like a bloodhound, but Jinx held back her laughter.

Tracking the scent Beast Boy found a little metal grate in the side of the castle wall. Peering in he spotted the black hair of a certain Boy Wonder. He shifted to fly and buzzed down into the cell and then changed back, badly startling the white winged wolf, who leaped up and growled savagely.

"Beast Boy!" Robin shouted in glee. "You're alive."

"What happened?" Beast Boy asked. He had never thought that Robin, of all people, could ever be captured. The boy had more tricks up his sleeve than Mumbo Jumbo, but here he was imprisoned in a cell with a weird looking wolf creature.

"Who are you?" Growled Winterwing.

"He's Beast Boy, another Titan." Robin said "Beast Boy this is Winterwing."

Beast Boy shifted to a wolf and gave Winterwing a "doggy hello" which consisted of circling each other, smelling each other's rears and growling at each other. It was a bit like pair of humans shaking hands, but more ritualistic. Winterwing decided that this strange green creature was okay. He might have been able to become a Deaf One, but this Beast Boy was certainly not deaf.

"Are you done?" Robin said after a few moments of this "We have a bit of a problem here."

"Right." Beast Boy said when he shifted back. "Tell me what happened."

"That dratted captain betrayed us. He turned Raven and me over to a crazy Halfblood named Sanath-"

"SANATH!" Beast Boy bellowed.

"Be quite you moron." Jinx's voice came from above the grate. She had found a bit of shrubbery to hide behind so she could follow the conversation." There are guards up here, you know."

"Sorry." Beast Boy's ears wilted a bit.

"You know Sanath?" Robin gave Beast Boy an odd look.

"Raven told me about him. She said he was this nut who murdered a friend of hers. He's here?"

"He's conquered these people." Robin said. "I don't know why, but at the moment that is not important. You need to find Raven, Beast Boy. I think she might be in danger."

"I got to get you out of here first." Beast Boy said as he eyed Robin's chains.

"No, first we have to find everyone else, especially Raven. If we bust out of here the guards may find out, and if they have Cyborg or Starfire than who knows what might happen. Unless they are with you?" Beast Boy shook his head. "For now, Beast Boy, just locate the rest of the team. We need to know were everyone is before we try to break out. I think Raven is being held, here, somewhere. Find her and tell her we are okay, then find Cyborg and Starfire. After that, we can plan an escape."

Beast Boy did not question his leader. He flew out the way he had come, as a fly, only to be snatched out of the air by Jinx.

"Listen, Bug Boy, I don't think it's a good idea if I snuck around with you. This place is crawling with guards. Remember that alley we passed on the way here? Bob if you do." Beast Boy bobbed his little fly body. "I'll meet you there after you make contact with the others. Just don't take all day!"

With that Jinx sneaked of to hide in an alley, while Beast Boy watched her in astonishment. How did she manage to sneak around like that with that neon pink hair of hers? It was just weird. You would think the stuff would point to her like a beacon.

Beast Boy buzzed around the castle, peeking into windows. Might as well start with the outside and work his way in. His heart leaped when he saw a certain figure in a blue cloak sitting on a bed in one of the upper tower rooms. It looked like a pretty nice room. Beast Boy could tell it was Raven. He landed on the balcony (suddenly feeling like Romeo…or Robin during the betrothal fiasco with Star) and shifted back to human.

"Raven!" he tried not to let his voice crack, and it obeyed. Mostly. She turned, startled. She obviously did not expect to see him here. While she did not display much emotion (even though she was powerless she still had that habit), Beast Boy could smell the emotions coming of her in waves.

None of the Titans knew this, even though Robin did suspect, but Beast Boy could literally smell their emotional states, much like a dog can smell fear. It was his enhanced animal senses that gave him this ability, as well as better hearing and better eyesight. He never really talked about it, partly due to embarrassment. For some reason he could not explain he just did not want to tell the others that he basically had some traits similar to animals while in his human form. He got enough funny looks as it was, he did not need to add on to them.

Funny thing about all of this was that he always had trouble smelling Raven's emotional states. Part of it was the fact that she was so good at suppressing her emotions. Beast Boy did not think she really knew how good she was. Oh, the odors where there, but they were much fainter than Robins or Starfire's…or even Cyborg's (and Cy was a bit difficult to read as well, due to the fact that he was covered in metal. Metal had an odor to, and whenever he was around his best friend his senses simply screamed METAL more than anything else). Now, however, though she was putting up her expressionless facade, her "emotion smells" were coming off in waves. There was fear, anger, a little disgust, and now that she was seeing one of her friends, hope and happiness.

Of course he would not mention any of this to Raven. She did not need to know that he "smelled her" better. That would be a no-no for him.

He opened the window and slipped into the room. He could not help but give her an almost Starfire like hug. Naturally she tensed up. He knew she did not like being hugged, but he was to glad to see her to care.

"Okay, stop that." Raven growled as she tried to push him away. It was bad enough that he had invaded her personal space, but what made it worse was the odd electrical feeling that accompanied the hug. Maybe it was static electricity?

He finally let go of her and stepped back. Now that he was not hugging her Beast Boy noticed that some…jackass had manacled her leg. Oh that made him pretty angry! Chains, cages, cuffs, basically anything that restricted freedom in any way made him mad. Once again it was the animal in him. Wild things did not like cages! The fact that it was Raven who was tied up only added to Beast Boy's anger. What did this Sanath think she was? A dog?

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

"Raven! Are you okay?" Great Beast Boy! You have just one the Most Stupid Question Of the Year Award! He thought immediately after said stupid question had flown out of his mouth.

"Beast Boy…you're alive." She said. She did not sound as pleased as Robin had been, but Beast Boy could tell that she really was happy to see him. The happy scent was stronger. How did she keep it all inside? If he did that he would go mad!

"Dude! Why does everyone think I'm dead! Don't you remember? I am the Beast MAN!" He could not help himself. "No puny ocean can defeat ME!" He tried for a heroic pose, but ended up looking like an idiot.

"Are the others all right?" Raven asked, completely ignoring the display.

"I found Jinx; she's hiding in the city. Robin is being held in the dungeons below. I haven't found Cyborg and Starfire yet, but Robin told me to go look for them. I think he has an escape plan, but he needs to know were everyone is."

"And Robin is okay?" Raven seemed very concerned. Beast Boy felt a stab of jealousy. Honestly, what did girls see in Mr. Wonderboy!

"He's fine…why?" Beast Boy asked, trying not to sound too jealous.

"Sanath…he's here. He told me that he would kill Robin if I don't do what he wants. I just wanted to make sure he has not gone through with his threat."

"What does he want you to do?"

Raven's nose wrinkled in disgust, as if she had just taken a good whiff of Beast Boy's infamous room. "He wants me to marry him." She said with even more dislike than she would have managed if she had been forced to eat tofu.

Beast Boy's face contorted with rage, for a moment he looked almost as savage as he did in his Beast form. His lips lifted up from his teeth and exposing the fact that he had, in fact, more than one fang. For a moment he looked like a snarling wolf. This impression was further driven home as his ears laid back, once again reminiscent of a canine. He could feel the claws hidden in his gloves sliding out as if ready to tear. This did not last long, in fact the look was only brief, but then he opened his mouth and started shouting. He could not help himself. He kind of blew up a bit, in a verbal sense. Angrily he scrolled through the list of every bad name he could think of to describe Sanath. Most of said words were highly rude, and it startled Raven for a bit. She did not know that Beast Boy had that wide a vocabulary.

"Are you done?" Raven said after ten minutes of this. "Good, now you have to do what Robin told you to do. Find the others and confirm their locations. We may not have enough time."

"But Raven-"

They were interrupted by what sounded like a footsteps on the stairs. Raven looked at the door like it was her worst enemy.

"Hide or get out of here, now." She growled at Beast Boy.

There was no way he was going to just leave her here! Not with some manic on the loose! He opted for hiding under the bed. There was enough room down here to fit even his Beast form, and more than enough for his…well scrawny frame.

Beast Boy heard the door open and the owner of the footsteps came in to the room. A strange smell assaulted his nostrils. It was a sick, poisonous smell, like rotting tomatoes in the summer heat. Unconsciously his claws started growing longer, long enough for them to break through his gloves and sink into the floor. His fangs grew as well and his muscles started bulging. He had never smelled anything like this before, but he knew what it was. It was the smell of insanity.

"Have you decided?" a voice said. It sounded…strange to Beast Boy's ears. As if the owner of said voice was not all…there. This, he decided, must be Sanath.

Sanath was continuing. "Are you going to marry me, or shall I execute the Fullblood?"

Beast Boy tried to contain a growl. Blackmail! This was nothing but blackmail! What made this lunatic think that forcing Raven to marry him would solve anything! All it would do would make her miserable! That filthy-

"Fine." That was Ravens voice.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!

"Leave Robin alone and I'll marry you." She continued.

It took all of Beast Boy's willpower not to just leap out from under the bed and do some damage. However, he was just too shocked by what Raven was saying to do much of anything.

"I'll come back for you tonight." Sanath said. Then Beast Boy heard the opening and closing of a door and the lunatic left. Beast Boy finally noticed the fact that he was…well almost shifted to the Beast, and he struggled to fight it back.

After he had gotten himself under control, he crawled out from under the bed and looked at Raven as if she was the crazy one.

"Raven! What are you thinking! You can't marry that fiend! You don't have to do it! We'll get Robin out and-"

"Beast Boy…listen to me. Remember the monsters? It was Sanath who brought them here. I think if I play this right I can find out where they are coming from and maybe a way to stop them. If I play along with Sanath I might be able to do it, but I need to know if the rest of you are safe first. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"Raven…what if he-"

"Go. Now." She growled with all the authority she could muster.

He didn't want to leave her, not with that monster Sanath lurking around. But he had to. She was right, he knew she was. But he did not like it at all. What if tonight Sanath tried to…?

Gulp.

Reluctantly Beast Boy flew out the window. He wished he could stay with Raven and protect her from this loon, but he had a mission. A job.

He had never felt so reluctant to follow Robin's orders before.

As it turned out the dwarfs that Illeria had mentioned were here underneath the city, and Arcktos had been hiding out with them for a while. Now, the prince was taking them to meet the dwarfs, who he said had some valuable information for Illeria.

Cyborg had always known that sewers where smelly, but this one had to be the smelliest he had ever smelled. Didn't these people know anything about sanitation? He did not even want to know what in the world the green stuff he was walking in was. To keep his mind off the yuck, he decided to question the Doberman-guy.

"Hey, who are you?" he asked as he went to walk beside the Doberman.

"The name's Arcktos and I can guess who you are. Cyborg?" Arcktos said.

"Yeah, and that's Starfire. But how do you know our names?"

"Most people on Azarath do, or least they have a vague idea. Most Azarathians, especially the priests, keep a close eye on Earth, just in case. Since you are the group that took in Raven my…father and I had been keeping an eye on you."

"Please, how do you observe us?" Starfire asked.

"Magical seeing mirrors, mostly. You have to remember that most of the things you use for technology we replace with magic. Not everyone can have one, but…well like I said my Dad wanted to keep an eye on Raven so Arella loaned him one." Then Arcktos muttered "Practically had to twist her arm too."

"Why would your Dad be so interested in Raven?" Cyborg asked, his big brother defensiveness coming through.

Arcktos grinned. He did this by sticking out his tongue and letting it hang a bit, just like a dog would. It was a little weird. "I used to play with Raven when we were little. And my father knew her real father, Flario. He kind of acted like an uncle towards her, and she and I were pretty close friends."

"Arcktos, what happened here?" Illeria asked. "And where is the king?"

Arcktos's face suddenly got a far away look. "We didn't expect it. Overnight the city was completely overwhelmed by these…things. Some sort of monsters. We were unprepared. Then this Halfblood came along and said if we did not surrender than he would let the monsters destroy our home. We were losing, so father thought it would be safer to surrender. He…made me go into hiding before that Halfblood managed to take the castle, and I go away. But Dad…" Arcktos growled "That beast of a Halfblood murdered him, Illeria! I think he might be trying to take over all of Azarath, he might even be planning on taking Earth as well." Arcktos snarled "Dad always treated the Halfbloods in this country with fairness! Sure there were a few citizens here that did not like Halfbloods, but that does not mean they should die because of that!"

They went on through the tunnels in reasonable science. Cyborg was mulling over some things in his mind. It seemed to him that they were running into people from Raven's past all over the place. He wondered if this meant something. Ideally looking up Cyborg saw a suspicious looking flash of pink from above another grate. He started, and looked closer. Yes! It was defiantly pink hair! He stopped and concentrated. A red eye scanned the figure, and his systems concluded that yes it was defiantly Jinx!

"Jinx!" He bellowed. The figure jumped up and made a strange noise between a yelp and a squeak. She looked down and looked at him in disbelief.

"Cyborg? What are you doing down a drain?" she asked.

"Long story. Are you okay? Do you know where Raven, Robin and Beast Boy are?"

A familiar voice came from behind Jinx. "Uh…Jinx? Why are you talking to a drain?"

"Beast Boy!" Cyborg bellowed, pleased to see his little green buddy.

"Cyborg? Dude! Why are you down a drain?"

"Look, could y'all just come down here so we can talk without me craning my neck!"

Jinx grumbled a little bit about having to go down a drain, but she did it anyway. As soon as her shoes had connected with the green muck she was swept up in a huge hug, courtesy of a certain flame-haired alien.

"I am elated to see you friend Jinx!" Starfire said as she crushed Jinx's spinal column. Then she switched to crushing poor Beast Boy's spinal column. Eventually she stopped, but Beast Boy had to wonder if she would ever create permanent damage to his vertebrae with those.

In quick order stories were traded and notes were exchanged. The group then continued on to where the dwarfs were. Eventually after a rather disgusting thirty minutes the sewer vanished and was replaced by a long dirt tunnel that twisted and turned like a snake. Eventually they came to a large cavern. In said cavern where ten dwarfs.

They were about half the height of an average human, but far more muscular and broader. All of them had long beards and grumpy expressions. They all looked alike to Beast Boy except for the fact that they had different colored beards. They gave everyone except Arcktos and Illeria a suspicious look.

"Illeria," said one of the dwarfs with a red beard "It's good to see ya. Who are these people?"

"These are the Teen Titans, friends of Raven. You remember Raven, right Cores?"

"Yeah, I remember the kid." Cores gave Cyborg a strange look, and then he offered his hand.

"Nice to meet you little-"Cyborg said, but as soon as the word "little" was out of his mouth the dwarf had decked him. Before he knew it the dwarf was standing on his chest looking down at him with a grumpy expression.

"Since you are an Earth person I won't kill you for that. Never call a dwarf small. We are not small. You are a giant!" Cores growled.

"Okay, sure. No problem. Just chill man." Cyborg said, a bit put out at how easily the dwarf had decked him.

The rest of the introductions went smoothly. No one used the l-word at all.

"So, Cores, why are you still here?" Illeria asked "I would have thought you and your team could have tunneled out of this place before now."

"Yeah, we could have, but not until we get the last bit of information we need." Cores said "So far we know that this Sanath guy is out to conquer all of Azarath. He's managed to get quite a few other Halfbloods on his side as well as some strange monsters. We even know which kingdom his is planning to strike next, the Nazlar kingdom. What we do not know is where these monsters come from and how we can stop them."

"Dude! We can tell you some things about them. A while back Raven started having these dreams…" Beast Boy told them a little about what Raven had learned about the Uglies. "So now…" Beast Boy paused "Sanath has captured Raven and Robin and he is planning on forcing Raven to marry him. She says she thinks she can get Sanath to tell her where the Uglies are coming from."

Cores growled "That's dangerous. Sanath is really unstable. I've heard him late at night talking to himself. He's a real nutcase. If Raven is not careful than he could really hurt her or worse. We need a plan and we need it now."

"We must make contact with Raven and Robin." Starfire said. "Perhaps with all of the heads together we can find a plan to escape this place."

"Getting to your leader is not a problem" Cores said. "The teams already got some tunnels leading into and out of that dungeon. We can be in and out of the place in no time flat. The problem is getting Raven out."

"Let's get to Robin first, and figure the rest out from there." Cyborg suggested.

Needless to say, Robin was a bit startled when the remainder of his team, along with ten dwarfs, one cat woman and one dog man popped up out of a well concealed hole literally in the middle of his cell. He was really glad that the guards had decided there was more interesting things to do than watch him. Really glad.

After everyone was introduced to everyone else, the real plotting started.

"I hate to say it, but Raven was right in saying that we need to know how and where Sanath is getting these creatures." Robin said "If that dragon was honest about them being able to regenerate then even if you destroyed them all there would still be more. And unfortunately the only way to do that is to get the information straight from them horse's mouth. I don't like it all, but-"

"Ummm, dude, I've been thinking about this." Beast Boy piped up. "Why don't I sneak back in her room and do my fly-on-a-wall impression? That way if Jercko decides to do anything I'll be there to stop him!"

"Good idea and that brings me to points number two and three." Robin said. "I'm thinking of a two pronged attack. We need someone to provide a distraction at the front gates, and we will also need someone to help me, Winterwing, and Raven get out of here while Team One is busting down the gates. When Raven gets the information we need and Sanath leaves, Beast Boy will give Team One the signal to start the commotion at the gates. The noise will be Team Two's signal to bust us out of here. After that we will have to meet up with Raven and Beast Boy and escape through that tunnel."

Cores whistled "That's a darned risky plan, boy. Are you sure it will work?"

"I don't know. Do you have a better suggestion?"

Cores grunted. "You think if I had a better idea I would still be here?"

"Okay, Team One should consist of Cyborg, Starfire, five of the dwarfs, and-"

"Me." Arcktos growled "Sanath wants me dead. My presence at the gate should bring him running."

"Okay, then the others except Beast Boy will be Team Two. Beast Boy, get to Raven now and wait for Sanath."

Beast Boy nodded and shifted to fly. He hurriedly buzzed out of the cell and flew towards Raven's prison. He noticed Starfire, Cyborg and the rest of Team One crawling out of yet another drain and taking up a position near the castle, ready for the signal. Beast Boy realized that this plan was pure insanity. What if Team One were killed at the gates? What if the guards walked in on Robin and the others getting out?

What if he, Beast Boy, was too weak to save Raven from Sanath? Dear God he could still remember how he had failed to protect Terra from Slade and look what had happened there?! Slade had turned Beast Boy's first real crush into an enemy! He had never been able to even touch that creep and save Terra! She had attacked him and his friends, and even tried to kill them! She had been a friend to them in the end, but then Terra had been trapped in that stone! Sure she had come back, but then she broke his heart all over again by rejecting him…the…witch with a B. What if Sanath was also to strong for him? What if he lost Raven like he had lost Terra? The thought nearly broke his heart all over again.

If fly's had teeth Beast Boy would have gritted his. This time would be different. He was stronger. He was smarter and he was-

He finally noticed that had he come to the room where Raven was held, but not only was Sanath already there, but he…he was strangling her! He had his huge hands around her pale grey throat and was squeezing the life from her!

Sanath was killing her.